BBC plans to send more than 100 staff, including 'wally in a brolly' Steve McClaren, to Euro 2008

Former England manager Steve McClaren will be going to Euro 2008 with the BBC

He could not lead his football team there, but Steve McClaren will be among 100 BBC staff at the Euro 2008 tournament this summer.

The corporation plans to send a huge team of journalists and production staff to Austria and Switzerland even though no home nations are involved in next month's event.

Fans are outraged that the 47-year-old former England coachwill be paid to offer 'expert analysis' for Radio 5 Live listeners.

He was sacked in November 2007 after the team failed to qualify for the European championship following a match against Croatia.

It led to him being dubbed 'the wally with the brolly' as he watched the rain-sodden game under an umbrella on the touchline.

Despite the failure he was given a £2.5million payoff after Football Association chiefs ended his four-year contract. Football fan and blogger Barney Ronay summed up many fans' strong feelings, saying: 'Initial reactions were probably best grouped together under the heading of furious disbelief.'

Another fan wrote: 'It's a travesty, McClaren shouldn't be allowed anywhere near English football again.'

McClaren's first commentary game will be on June 8 in Basle when Austria meet Croatia - the team that ensured England failed to qualify for the finals.

The BBC announced last month that he would appear with co-host Alan Green, who was one of his harshest critics as manager.

A BBC spokesman said numbers were not confirmed, but McClaren was going to Euro 2008 as part of the Radio 5 Live team.

'We expect there to be a lot of interest in the competition due to the number of Premiership players involved even though England is not playing,' he added.

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BBC plans to send more than 100 staff, including 'wally in a brolly' Steve McClaren, to Euro 2008